Favorite Bike Gear

I started on a Trek hybrid that I bought for a great deal from a neighbor at her garage sale. I suppose that could’ve been the spark that started some of this craziness. You just need something with two wheels, pedals, and a helmet to get going. Nothing fancy. The main thing is to have something that fits YOU.

After my first “long” ride of 10 miles on that hybrid bike, I knew I needed to get something else if I was actually going to do triathlons. It was WAY heavy and cumbersome. I was working HARD just to go 8 mph.And, it didn’t FIT me.

I ended up finding Lexa. She was a base model Trek road bike. I found her for $600 at a local bike shop. Although, I threw away money on her putting on some Profile Design aero bars, some knock-off SPD pedals, and a cheapie Bontrager computer. I liked to pretend she was actually a tri bike. That served me pretty well for my first sprint tri. I averaged 19 mph and placed 2nd in my age group. However, I was NOT comfortable. The bike was not made for ME. It did not FIT.

I’ve since learned that road bikes are road bikes. They are made for a much different position than what aero bars force you into. Plus, I was never fit properly on Lexa. It was one of those “eh, let me look at you sideways and assume you’ll ride this size” kind of fitting. So, our relationship was flawed from the beginning.

But, she got me through two sprint triathlons and 2 Olympic triathlons. She was a good girl. She was great with the baby trailer on the back.

I sold her to another beginning triathlete who was much better fit for her and it was a happy goodbye.

Then, there came Veronica. She’s one fast lady. She’s an extra small Specialized Shiv Expert.

Wheels:

Zipp 808s

Pedals:

Look Keo Carbon

Veronica and all of my other triathlon equipment were unfortunately in the house during the fire, but the frame and many components are luckily salvageable. Stay tuned for updates on her rebuild.

In the mean time, meet Phoenix, the Specialized Amira SL4 Pro Race.